This document discusses data standards and linked data, reviewing case studies from Europe and North America. It begins with an overview of challenges limiting adoption of data standards and linked data specifications. Several case studies are presented on open data and data standards, showing how civic organizations have built applications on open government data and how standards have enabled ecosystems in transportation data. Linked data use cases are also discussed, noting projects from Google, BBC, and Europeana. The document concludes by discussing challenges to wider adoption of linked data and potential solutions like focusing on sectors with clear incentives, making implementations simple for developers, and finding ways to solve real problems for implementors and their audiences.

1. DATA STANDARDS AND LINKED DATA
CHALLENGES & USE CASES IN EUROPE AND THE UNITED STATES

2. HELLO !
I’M JONATHAN

3. (OPEN) Data
(OPEN) Business Models
(OPEN) Innovation
(OPEN) Organization
AND I’M FROM FIVE BY FIVE

4. CASE STUDIES
—
CHALLENGES
—
THE FUTURE
—
Open Data standards and
linked data have had some
success. We’ll review several
case studies from Europe and
North America with an eye
toward what we might learn.
The vision of a world of
linked data across the
internet is still far from a
reality. What are the current
challenges limiting
adoption?
What possible solutions are
there to the challenges in
driving adoption of data
standards and linked data
specs? What can successful
case studies teach us?

5. CASE STUDIES CHALLENGES THE FUTURE
SOME DEFINITIONS
Shared rules
Standards set ground rules so
collaboration and coordination can
happen with little effort.
Communicating through data
Datasets become even more
powerful when they can be
compared, merged, and cross-
referenced.
Describing and modeling data
Different kinds of data needs different kind
of models. Agreeing on how to describe the
world through data is an important role of
standards.
Data Standards are the rules by
which data are described and
recorded in order to share,
exchange, and understand it.

6. Web of links
The hyperlink is the fundamental unit of connection
on the web. Linked Data attempts to define another
that gives the connection further context.
CASE STUDIES CHALLENGES THE FUTURE
SOME DEFINITIONS
Modeling data
The web is mostly made up of unstructured data. Linked
Data is a way to add structure to this chaos. Think of a
news article whose primary facts are cross-referenced to
the authoritative sources online.
Semantic queries
Move beyond text search we need
context. Linked Data embeds the
relationship of information, allowing
queries of this context.
Linked Data is a method of
publishing structured data so that it
can be interlinked and become more
useful through semantic queries

7. CASE STUDIES CHALLENGES THE FUTURE
SOME DEFINITIONS

8. CASE STUDIES CHALLENGES THE FUTURE
OPEN DATA USE CASES
• Open city (Chicago) government data being used to
provide an additional service to citizens.
• Each project is unique; can’t be directly replicated to
different governments because there are no standards
around this data.
• Not possible had the government not opened up its data.
• Includes involvement of a civic organization, not business.

9. CASE STUDIES CHALLENGES THE FUTURE
OPEN DATA: LARGE LOTS
Government program made
more accessible by a
community organization
leveraging Open Data.

10. CASE STUDIES CHALLENGES THE FUTURE
OPEN DATA: HEALTH ATLAS
Smart Chicago–a civic organization–
builds applications on top of the
city’s Open Data, responding to the
direct needs of citizens.

11. CASE STUDIES CHALLENGES THE FUTURE
OPEN DATA: CLEAR STREETS
DataMade–a data consultancy–
uses the City’s open data of snow
plows to let citizens know if their
route is clear.

12. CASE STUDIES CHALLENGES THE FUTURE
DATA STANDARD USE CASES
• Emerging standards in Open Data.
• Standards provide the framework on top of which an
ecosystem of data providers and application developers
can develop.
• Hard to write a standard that captures every edge case,
particularly when the standard is expected to be applied
internationally.
• Once a standard becomes established, businesses can
grow up around it.

13. CASE STUDIES CHALLENGES THE FUTURE
DATA STANDARD: GTFS
Transportation sector has one of
the clearest use cases for
standards.
Data Standards help smaller
organizations build on the work
of larger ones.

14. CASE STUDIES CHALLENGES THE FUTURE
DATA STANDARD: GTFS
CityMapper mashes up several
data sets–public and private–and
develops routing and decision
making on top of it.

15. CASE STUDIES CHALLENGES THE FUTURE
DATA STANDARD: GTFS
Ecosystem around GTFS standard produces
tooling and other support systems.

16. CASE STUDIES CHALLENGES THE FUTURE
DATA STANDARD: LIVES
Standards increase the
impact of the work
government and businesses
are already doing.

17. CASE STUDIES CHALLENGES THE FUTURE
DATA STANDARD: OPEN BANKING
Open Data Standard
evolving from government
mandate.

18. CASE STUDIES CHALLENGES THE FUTURE
LINKED DATA USE CASES
• Linked Data, emerged from the research and development
in the Semantic Web.
• Powerfully generic. Designed to encompass and define
essentially any kind of data set.
• Heavy on the public-sector data-provider side: many data
providers, often research and government institutes.
• Challenge: moving from an academic field to industry.
• Signs of progress: Google, renewed interest in AI.

19. CASE STUDIES CHALLENGES THE FUTURE
LINKED DATA: GOOGLE
Growing use of contextual
linked data by large web
companies.

20. CASE STUDIES CHALLENGES THE FUTURE
LINKED DATA: BBC
One of the most
comprehensive and well
developed Linked Data
projects on the web.

21. LINKED DATA: EUROPEANA
CASE STUDIES CHALLENGES THE FUTURE
The European Union has
been investing in Linked
Data projects for some time.

22. CASE STUDIES CHALLENGES THE FUTURE
CHALLENGES FOR LINKED DATA
• Biggest challenge for is encouraging adoption.
• First-comer dilemma: why invest without obvious use case?
Involve civic organizations.
• Standardization is easiest within organizations or specific
sectors. Concentrate on sectors that are most
promising.
• Have to line up the incentives of both the data provider and
implementors. Find the right business model.
What can the Linked Data community learn from
other open data standardization projects?

23. CASE STUDIES CHALLENGES THE FUTURE
BUSINESS MODELS
Ecosystem Model
Transit providers have incentive to make
their system easy to use.
Solution: create an ecosystem around their data of apps who
can make a profit while providing ease of use.
Audience Model
Concert promoters have an incentive to let people know
about their event.
Solution: provide event data with Linked Data metadata so
that it can be integrated into Google and other tools.
Greatest challenge is finding the business model for
Linked Data that does not fit these incentives.
Example: year the Republic of Korea was founded.

24. HELP THE IMPLEMENTORS
CASE STUDIES CHALLENGES THE FUTURE
MAKE IT
SIMPLE
AUDIENCE
SOLVE
PROBLEMS
😊
Make it Simple
- Use tools that developers are already using.
Example: JSON-LD is better than RDF/XML.
- Build a toolset that is easy and modular.
- Build for the implementors.
Solve Real Problems
- GTFS is just a text file. But it solves a real
problem.
- LIVES gives more than just customer
reviews.
Find the Audience
- Find implementors with an audience.
Example: Google using contextual data.
- Future: News outlets have an audience and
an incentive to be accurate. Collaboration
between news and data providers?

25. THANK YOU !
ANY QUESTIONS?
@_PICHOT
JONATHAN@PICHOT.US